/**
 * Copyright (c) 2004-2011 QOS.ch
 * All rights reserved.
 *
 * Permission is hereby granted, free  of charge, to any person obtaining
 * a  copy  of this  software  and  associated  documentation files  (the
 * "Software"), to  deal in  the Software without  restriction, including
 * without limitation  the rights to  use, copy, modify,  merge, publish,
 * distribute,  sublicense, and/or sell  copies of  the Software,  and to
 * permit persons to whom the Software  is furnished to do so, subject to
 * the following conditions:
 *
 * The  above  copyright  notice  and  this permission  notice  shall  be
 * included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
 *
 * THE  SOFTWARE IS  PROVIDED  "AS  IS", WITHOUT  WARRANTY  OF ANY  KIND,
 * EXPRESS OR  IMPLIED, INCLUDING  BUT NOT LIMITED  TO THE  WARRANTIES OF
 * MERCHANTABILITY,    FITNESS    FOR    A   PARTICULAR    PURPOSE    AND
 * NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE
 * LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION
 * OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE,  ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION
 * WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
 *
 */
package org.slf4j.profiler;


/**
 * This interface sets the methods that must be implemented by 
 * {@link Profiler} and {@link  StopWatch} classes. It settles the 
 * general feel of the profiler package.
 * 
 * @author Ceki G&uuml;lc&uuml;
 *
 */
public interface TimeInstrument {

  /**
   * All time instruments are named entities.
   * @return the name of this instrument
   */
  String getName();
  
  
  TimeInstrumentStatus getStatus();
  
  /**
   * Start tis time instrument.
   * 
   * @param name
   */
  void start(String name);
  
  /**
   * Stop this time instrument.
   * 
   * @return this
   */
  TimeInstrument stop();

  /**
   * Time elapsed between start and stop, in nanoseconds.
   * 
   * @return time elapsed in nanoseconds
   */
  long elapsedTime();
  
  /**
   * Print information about this time instrument on the console.
   */
  void print();
  
  /**
   * If the time instrument has an associated logger, then log information about 
   * this time instrument. Note that {@link StopWatch} instances cannot log while {@link Profiler}
   * instances can.
   */
  void log();
}
